


Broken Arm and a Beard

by Pokypup49



Category: Uncharted (Video Games)
Genre: Dating, F/M, Light Angst, Tree Climbing, anxious Nate, breakups suck, stuck at home, taste of normalcy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-05
Updated: 2017-11-22
Packaged: 2018-12-24 09:49:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 16,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12010203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pokypup49/pseuds/Pokypup49
Summary: Nate visits Elena on the way to another treasure hunt. She convinces him to stay an extra couple days with her and they go to a bar-b-q. Nate breaks his arm, ending his treasure hunting for a few weeks. So he stays at home with Elena and finds himself so anxious to get out. Elena, on the other hand, can not stand his laziness, especially when it comes to shaving!





	1. Please Stay

**Author's Note:**

> I dont own Uncharted or any of the characters. I just enjoy writing about them so much!

                “I’m going.”

                “Please, Nate, stay.”

                “Why?”

                Elena shrugged. “There’s a city bar-b-q. Go with me.”

                Nate rubbed his forehead. “I’m not making any money sitting here. I have a perfect opportunity here! I don’t want to miss it!”

                “You really think that some century old treasure is going to disappear if you don’t find it next week?”

                Nate grumped. He was getting anxious. He had only stopped to say hi for a few days while he waited for a call from a potential partner. There was a soft word that the great treasure of Montezuma was discovered by a map in Spain. Nate at first thought this was ridiculous, but this potential partner ensured the authenticity of the map and the content. So, with words of encouragement from Sully, he set out for the States. In the meantime, he’d spend time with Elena which he always enjoyed. It’d only been a few months since they met, and she was already plaguing his mind, more than most women he engaged with.

                “It’s just two days,” Elena smiled sweetly. “Then, I will let you run off to whatever illegal pastime joy ride you want.” Elena had made it clear to him before that she didn’t really approve of his actions but it didn’t seem to affect his decisions.

                Nate bit his lip and looked at his watch. His friend had called him that morning giving specific instructions. He wondered if he’d wait for him. “Elena,” he whined. “It’s a stupid bar-b-q. You really want to go to it?”

                Elena nodded. She wasn’t going to tell him she was actually trying to sucker up to a newspaper editor for a job. After the loss of her show, she had wanted to get into something more serious and more prestigious… And the news channel was hiring for correspondents. “Don’t you think it will be nice?”

                Nate could disagree on so many levels. He was not, nor was he ever, a fan of crowds. And though the idea of having lots of food appealed to him, he’d rather be crawling through caves and scaling the tall cliff sides that were projected to him over the phone. The brown eyes that had seduced him before though called for his presence. He sighed and scratched his cheek. “Fine,” he relented. “But the day after, I’ve got to go.”

                Elena nodded and jumped happily on him, wrapping her arms around him. “You’ll have so much fun! Thank you!”

                Nate grinned with the reward and hugged her back. He did like the attention. As Elena’s feet returned to the ground, Nate pulled out his phone and called his contact back to let him know he was running a few days behind and to wait. It went just about as well as he thought. His contact wasn’t pleased with his delinquency and said that they weren’t going to wait much longer than that. Nate wasn’t going to be getting paid while on personal business. Nate agreed and ensured that he’d be there as soon as he could.

                Until the bar-b-q, they had a day to kill. Elena had plans of her own, but it was Nate’s turn to break her plans. He was fast to hold her a little extra longer in bed, kissing her shoulders, her breasts, and her ears. His fingers glided over her pale skin. Elena couldn’t deny that she liked it. He did have this amazing ability to just touch her and everything around her would disappear and the only thing mattered was them. Her initial plans to go shopping and to get her resume up to date were tossed away with the soft pecks of his lips upon her skin. Her day melted away.

                “Don’t you need to get supplies,” Elena asked as Nate ran a finger down her side.

                Nate hummed something inaudible and kissed the back of her shoulder.

                “Are you going to swing by and say hi after?”

                “After what?”

                Elena rolled her eyes. “After this treasure hunt, you’re so inclined on pursuing.”

                Nate nodded. “Yeah. I’d be happy to.”

                Elena looked up at her clock. “Jesus,” she sighed. “It’s almost two! We really should get up.”

                “Why?” Nate grumped. “I get up all the other days.”

                Elena liked that excuse, but they day must still be done. “Come-on, Cowboy.” She reached back to pat his thigh and rose from the sheets.

                Nate grumped again and looked out the window. Now he wasn’t only being forced to stay when he wanted to leave, but he was being forced to get up and do things he didn’t want to do. He didn’t want to go shopping or go to have lunch. He’d rather stay in bed with this beautiful blonde and enjoy the moments that he had. For all he knew, this crafty fellow on the other end of the phone would just kill him at the end of the trip. “What if I just stay here and review some maps,” Nate offered, still trying to get out of going with her.

                “Why don’t you want to spend time with me?”

                “It’s not that I don’t want to spend time with you,” Nate defended. “It’s that… I just don’t want to go shopping.”

                “We can get a late lunch,” she called from the bathroom. “Go to that taco place you like so much!”

                Nate scratched his scalp and looked over to the bathroom where he heard her turn the water on for the shower. He squinted at it and sighed. “Only you would use tacos against me!” He called back.

                While out, Nate found himself grumping and groaning more and more. He wasn’t happy in the least that he was being dragged around. _This is why I don’t stay more than a few days_ , he reminded himself. As Elena dragged him into one store trying to find a shirt other than a Henley, he began to wonder how he ended up in this precise situation. Sure, he’d visited girls before, most of them he didn’t multiple times because it never worked out past that. But now he was seeing Elena more and more, and he couldn’t decipher if she had stolen his heart or if he hadn’t realized how ridiculous it was to live two lives. What was it about Elena that attracted him to her again and again? He couldn’t figure it out. She was young, spunky, and rather naughty, but most of his girlfriends were. Although a few could have killed him. He smirked as he watched her. Her little butt shake as she moved from one stand to the next. She waved at him, calling him to try something on. It resulted immediately in an eye-roll and a sigh.

                Elena, on the other hand, couldn’t define Nathan Drake. She was a journalist by heart, a woman who could describe, uncover, and expose, providing the world with evidence of her thesis. Nathan Drake, on the other hand, remained a mystery on so many levels. While she enjoyed all her time with him, she could sense that she wasn’t what he really wanted He was a man of adventure, a man of action (mostly illegal action), and a man of selfish gain. She’d never stand to be under the influence of such a person, yet here she was. She liked going with him, and she liked listening to his stories. She liked being with him.

                Back at her apartment, he’d have her feet in his lap as she’d work on her computer, and he’d go through his book. The comfortability they had within each other was almost abnormal for a couple who had only known for a few months. Then again, most couples didn’t fight off zombies and a madman for a golden sarcophagus. She’d tried to write about it, tried to put in a story, but every time she found herself deleting it. It’d have to be their secret. No one would believe her and she couldn’t risk losing her credibility.

                “I just don’t think this guy is right about this,” Nathan muttered as he turned a page. “It just isn’t right.”

                “Then why are you going?” Elena looked up from her computer.

                Nate shrugged. “I guess I’m just hoping he’s right.”

                “Are you normally wrong?”

                Nate scoffed. “I don’t like to think I’m wrong, no.”

                Elena nodded. “Are you suddenly doubting yourself?”

                “I’m a man who seeks the truth,” he quickly clarified, “where ever it may be.”

                Elena laughed out loud. “The truth is you’re a tomb robber.”

                “I don’t rob tombs,” Nate defended quickly. “I discover them and reap my rewards for it.”

                “However you want to define it,” Elena laughed. She looked at him with a smirk over the top of her laptop. He smirked back and turned the page again, making a note with a pencil. She was going to miss him while he was gone.


	2. The Fall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The date to the city bar-b-q doesn't go how either of them planned and ruins both their days.

                The day didn’t even start how Nathan Drake wanted it to. Elena had him up with the sun, despite his habit to stay up late. The only satisfying part was the fact he was able to shower with her and she made amazing waffles. He got up, shaved, put on a clean shirt, and dragged himself about the apartment as she cleaned and got herself ready as well. He called his contact and made final plans to arrive in Arizona the next day. He had a rental car and planned on racing that way tomorrow morning.

                “Hey, Nate!” Elena called as she finished fixing her hair.

                “Yeah,” Nate called back from the living room as he packed his backpack.

                “Can you do me a favor while we are out?”

                Nate raised an eye and looked at the bedroom door. “I guess.”

                “I’m trying to get a job with the local news as a correspondent. Can you not talk about your exciting lifestyle?”

                Nate laughed out loud. “Don’t want me to make you look boring?”

                Elena poked her head out of the doorway and glared. “No, smart ass. So that I don’t look like I meander with criminals.”

                Nate continued to laugh. “But you do!” He leaned back on his hands as he grinned at Elena in the doorway. Elena folded her arms and leaned in the doorway. Nate had to say that she did dress nice for such an occasion as a city bar-b-q. She had on some nice black pants and a tight fitting blouse which attracted Nate instantly to her curves. Her hair was loosely pulled up, traditional to Elena’s signature look. “So,” he smirked. “The truth comes out. You’re wanting to go just for an interview. Why do I have to go if I make you look so bad?” _Because you make me look so damn good_ , he thought as he admired her.

                “You are there to make me look successful.”

                Nate blinked. “You’re going to use my sexy hot looks to your benefit?”

                Elena nodded slowly.

                “I’m not sure how I feel about this,” he muttered and zipped his backpack shut.

                “Please,” Elena whined. “I’ve really been trying to convince these guys that I’m right for the job!”

                Nate shrugged. “If you were right for the job, they’d hire you.” The comment was plain, pretty emotionless, and he didn’t mean to rile her up. But Elena wanted to scream at him. He didn’t have to struggle like she did. She wanted acceptance and approval. He didn’t care either way. He could spend his life in the dirt and grime of alleyways and dungeons of 18th-century castles. She was convinced to some extent that he only showed up because she had a bed and wasn’t going to force him on the couch. She was trying to make a name for herself. She needed the approval. Instead of screaming, she rolled her eyes and moved to the door to put her sandals on.

                The day was perfect for such an event. The sun was warm in their faces. The birds chirped and sang in the trees nearby. As they walked, hand in hand, down the sidewalk to the park, it felt comfortable and natural. Nate felt happy. When arriving to the park, He paid their entrance fee and joked that it meant he paid for their lunch. Elena sweetly smiled in return. She was enjoying this too. Her hair shimmered in the sunlight, and her steps were light as they strolled. They weren’t really “dating” by definition, but moments like this made her feel they should be. They made their way around. There were carnival booths, venues full of little trinkets, and contests like pie eating and volleyball tournaments.

                “Pie eating,” Nate read the flyer. “Guess it depends if the pie is any good…”

                “You going to enter?” Elena stood up on her tippy toes as she looked at the flyer.

                Nate knew about these carnivals and bar-b-qs… but he never had the opportunity to actually participate as a lawful citizen. It was new to him. Usually, he was stealing the pies, or pickpocketing along the way. “I don’t know,” he muttered. He looked dimly at the paper.

                “Can you win me a bear?” She pointed to a carnival game.

                Nate smirked. “That I think I can do!”

                With bear in hand, Elena strolled down the grass to a wide area. As she came out she noticed a few people playing Frisbee, instantly recognizing one of the people. “It’s Amanda!”

                “Who’s Amanda,” Nate asked, but it was too late. Elena sprinted off to her friend. He sighed and followed her. “What happened to us,” he said to no one in particular “Who is this Amanda?”

                By the time Nate had caught up to the two, they had hugged and already started talking. From what Nate could gather, Amanda was obviously a close friend of Elena’s but she was very much different. Amanda was tall, wider, and more reserved. “Nate,” Elena motioned to introduce the two, “this is Amanda. We went to Mexico when we were in High School on a humanitarian project.”

                “You are a goodie toe shoes,” Nate joked as he elbowed her in the side.

                Elena glared. This is exactly what she didn’t want him to be doing.

                Nate continued to laugh as he reached out his hand to greet Elena’s friend. He didn’t really care, he wasn’t there to meet people. He would have rather be somewhere in Arizona. So he had to make the most of it and make Elena happy.

                “I didn’t think you’d meet such a hunk as this guy!” Amanda eyed Nate with a sly grin. Her voice was softer than Elena’s. Her brown hair was short, and as Nate continued to profile Amanda, the more it amused him that she was very much the opposite of Elena. He, on the other hand, was not so attracted to Amanda. First off, she hadn’t punched him in the face, and two, he didn’t think he’d enjoy the idea of her punching him in the face.

                Elena laughed and put her hand on Nate’s arm gently. “Oh, he met me,” she smirked.

                Nate nodded. “That’s for sure.” He referred back to the earlier comment in his head about being punched in the face. As a reaction to the thought, he rubbed his cheek and smirked.

                “Many people meet Elena,” Amanda sympathized. “Where did you two meet?”

                “Panama,” Nate quickly answered. He was about to continue when he heard Elena’s favor being asked in his memory. He stopped and put his hands in his pockets. It only made this whole situation a little more awkward.

                “Weren’t you there for your show?” Amanda motioned for them to join her on the blanket.

                Elena nodded. “Yeah. That’s how we met. I was interviewing him.” Elena smirked nervously. It was more to the fact she didn’t want Amanda to know that it was a disaster and that she ended up meeting the one guy, and being attracted to the one guy, who put an end to her beloved show. On the other hand… She did want to gloat that she was heroically saved by said man

                “One hell of an interview,” Nate laughed. He scratched the back of his head. He looked warmly at Elena who returned the gaze.

                “Oh,” Amanda giggled. “Love at first sight?”

                That broke the stare as they realized what was being insinuated. Elena was about to answer something sarcastic when a Frisbee hit the back of her head.

                “Collin!” Amanda yelled.

                “Sorry!”

                Nate, feeling a tad possessive, grabbed the Frisbee and threw it back. Nate, however, was not good at Frisbee. There was never a reason in his life he ever payed Frisbee. He put too much effort into it and sent the Frisbee flying upward and into the tree to their left.

                “Oh, come on, man,” Collin exclaimed. “I didn’t mean to hit her!”

                Nate frowned. “That’s not what I wanted…”

                Everyone stopped and looked up to see their play toy in the green leaves. “Really?” Elena sighed. She looked up at Nate and raised her eyebrows.

                “I got it,” Nate quickly relented. He grumped as he sulked towards the tree. Climbing was his specialty. It really was. And in no time at all, he was climbing up and through the branches to reach the bright red, flat, circular, piece of plastic everyone favored. Trees were so much easier than cliff sides and castle ruins. As he swung and jungled his way up, he failed to notice the group of people assembling at the base of the tree to watch him.

                “Is your boyfriend a monkey,” Amanda whispered to Elena.

                She laughed in return. “He thinks he is sometimes,” she whispered back. “but he mostly likes to show off.”

                “There,” Nate called as he tossed the Frisbee back to Earth. He turned and dropped down to a branch to swing lower.  The branch creaked and whined under his weight and he dropped down to the one below it. As Elena began to call out for him, the second branch snapped. It didn’t even give Nate warning. Nate, familiar with falling, reached out to grab another branch. It wasn’t that high up, but high enough for his grasp to fail and him to “bounce” down from a few more limbs. He didn’t cry out surprisingly enough. Elena did as she watched. In that second as he tumbled out of the tree, landing on the ground with a “humph” and an “ow” Elena and two others stood around him. Nate grasped his arm as he rolled over, groaning. “Damn it,” he muttered.

                “Jesus,” Amanda gasped

                Elena looked at Nate and honestly had to hold back a laugh. It wasn’t the castle walls or cliffs that he fell from, but just ten feet up in a tree. Wouldn’t that figure. Her humor left her when she saw his arm. It was starting to swell, snapped at an awkward angle, and was red in color, probably from contact with the branch. “Did you break your arm,” she asked in disbelief. It was obviously broken, everyone could see. 

                Nate laid his head back, starting to feel embarrassed by everyone seeing him in such a condition. He lifted his right arm, feeling it sting and scream in pain. He gritted his teeth, hissed at the pain, but refused to cry out. 

                Collin and Elena helped Nate to his feet. “We better get you off to the ER then,” Elena sighed. As she turned around to help limp Nate home, she noticed one of the Editors in Chief that she had interviewed with the first time standing just under a tree watching her. She growled at herself. _There goes that opportunity_ , she supposed. _So much for that_. But Nate was more than just a friend and she knew she’d feel awful if she just left him in the grass while she socialized.

               

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just can't imagine that Nate didn't ever break any of his bones... ever... In the games, he's viewed and portrayed as nearly invincible, but I enjoy writing characters in a very human and mortal way. The hard part now is expressing the emotions that follow.


	3. Realisations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The realisation of his arm being broken begins to set in. Both Elena and Nate start to get angry over their lost opportunities. Nate says things he shouldn't.

                Nate hated the doctor. He always had hated them. All the paperwork, the nagging, and the questions, he despised going unless he absolutely had to. It wasn’t like he was going to pay them anyway. Well, he did have the money, in some off shore account...But it wasn’t like he wanted to share it with anyone. He resisted screaming when the nurse touched his arm. She wrinkled her nose at him and told him to stop being a baby. Elena stood by his side and tried to comfort him. He didn’t want her to think he was a baby, though he didn’t care what the nurse thought of him. They took X-rays, said they could reset it, and he’d be in a cast for six weeks. Nate looked slowly at Elena. “Are they joking?”

                Elena shook her head. “It needs to heal.” She pointed to the computer. “That’s a nasty break!”

                “I am supposed to go…” He stopped himself as the nurse walked in to drop off the cast material. “You know! I’ve got a job to do!”

                Elena shrugged.

                “What am I supposed to do?”

                _Nevermind that I missed my opportunity because you had to go climbing_ , Elena growled in her head. Elena sighed. “You can stay at my place for a while.” Her voice was soft, trying to comfort him in his stricken panic.

                Nate grumped. “It’s not that I don’t have a place to go.”

                “I’m just trying to be nice, I don’t have to offer my place to you.” Elena’s voice was quiet but firm. “You don’t have to be an asshole.”

                Nate grimaced. “I can’t climb like this!” He looked away from Elena and down at his arm as they started to wrap it. If only he would have just left, and not gone to the stupid bar-b-q, he would be making money and writing history instead of sitting here getting a pity party.

                She didn’t know what to say. That she was sorry? That he was being ungrateful? She didn’t know. She watched when they set his arm, listening to him scream and curse, and then wrap it up. Wasn’t that enough for him? She’d never had anyone do anything that committable for her. And she wondered if he would have. She laughed at herself in her head. He fought off a psycho for her. Why wouldn’t he help her out if her arm was broken? “You’ll have to come up with a good story,” she joked to lighten the mood.

                “Why? Falling out of a tree is too boring?”

                She snickered. “Yeah, it seems a little normal for Nathan Drake.”

                On the way home, Elena was nice enough to stop at the store and buy him some snacks. If he was going to be stuck at her house, she better have things for him to do. Some groceries and a puzzle later, they left. It wasn’t like his leg was broken, it was just his arm. She told him he’d have to keep himself busy, but not to strain his arm. He agreed quietly, almost embarrassed that he’d broke his arm of all things.

                Once home, Nate pulled out his phone and reluctantly called his so called partner. Elena did feel guilty as she listened to him on the phone. He tried to talk the guy into waiting six more weeks. He offered help over the phone and email. But she could hear the guy rather angry on the other end. As he hung up, she rubbed his back. “You didn’t want that job anyway.”

                “Oh,” Nate sighed.

                “No,” she shook her head. “That’s pretty boring. I’ll be honest. And its so cursed, what would you do with it?”

                Nate shrugged. “I can’t even write,” he complained. “It’s my right hand,” he motioned with his left.

                “Well,” Elena patted his shoulders and went to put a frozen pizza in the oven. “You can learn to write with your left.”

                Nate scoffed. He looked down at his pencil before picking it up with his left hand and holding it. It felt foreign, odd, and uncomfortable. He put the lead to the paper and tried to write his name, only to see scribbles. He dropped the pencil and put his head on the table. “It’s useless… I’m useless.”

                “Hey,” Elena called from her little oven. “This is that vacation that you and Sully always wanted. It’s just forced on you a little.”

                “There’s no beach, no booze, and no babes,” Nate grumbled lowly.

                Elena glared at the back of his head. He didn’t move. He just sat, slumped sadly in the chair. She didn’t say anything, though she wanted to. She wanted to just throw the frozen pizza at him, tell him that it fucked her weekend up too. She wanted to throw a beer bottle at him and yell, “here’s your booze! Cause you’re not getting any boobs from this babe!”  But she instead just glared. He was angry and sad and she knew that she had a tendency of saying things that were unnecessary in that state of mind too. Nate, even knowing him for such a short period of time, meant a lot to her. So she took a deep breath and put the pizza in the oven.

                Nate knew he shouldn’t have said it. He was almost hoping that she didn’t hear it, but considering the silence, he figured she did. He could feel her cold stare at the back of his head. He just stared at the scribbles. It wasn’t that he was broke. He still had quite a bit of money, it was the opportunity to find such a treasure. He looked at his blue cast and wondered if he could cut it off and sneak out and just go. He sighed heavily and heard Elena put a pizza in the oven. He’d just stay there and see how long he’d last being normal. He stood up and turned to see Elena pulling a salad out of the fridge. She was bent over and he walked quietly over to her, grabbing her hips and pressing against her rear.

                Elena stood up as a response. Nate put his head softly on her shoulder, leaving his hands on her hips. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

                It didn’t make her feel any better. She still wanted to scream at him. But she smiled weakly. “I understand,” she acknowledged. She turned around to smile at his face. “Help me make this salad.”

                That night was quiet. Both of them had much to think about. Elena turned on the news, but changed the channel after a few minutes. Nate ate his pizza, picked at his salad, and sat quietly, sulking at his predicament and the regret of his words. Elena was just angry on so many levels. She thought it was better if she just watched TV quietly. As bed time came, Elena rose and stretched. She looked at Nate who’s second round of drugs were well into effect.

                “Are you ready for bed?”

                He nodded. “I suppose so.” He stood up and brushed his legs off as he followed her into the bedroom. It wasn’t weird for them to be sleeping together. Since getting back from Panama and their El Dorado adventure, they had grown to each other very intimately.  Nate had to admit, at least to himself but no one else, that this was the strongest and most stable relationships he’d dedicated himself to. Going to bed with her, even if it was just to sleep, felt comfortable and natural. It waslow-keyy, and almost forgotten that they really weren’t dating. At least to him they weren’t. Getting comfortable that night was not easy however. The cast made things awkward, and he fought to find an easy position. He grumped and sighed as he tossed and turned. Elena turned her back to him, the first time ever, and went straight to sleep. He looked longingly at her as he tried to settle himself in, but he knew he blew it back before dinner. Maybe he needed some cuddling, maybe he needed a hug. It didn’t matter. He’d have to figure out what he was going to do tomorrow.

               

               

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Really enjoying playing with the immaturity of this relationship. It's going to be a longer than I imagined and planned, but I'm having fun writing it. Let me know what you all think. I appreciate feedback.


	4. Fire In the Kithen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A fire in the kitchen. Simply said.

                 After a few days, emotions settled. Elena still held a bit of resentment, however, she realized that her moment was gone and that she needed to move on. She still had to look for a job. So, she went about her duties, asking politely for Nate not to burn down her apartment in the meantime. Nate had nothing to do. He went for walks, ran errands for Elena, but was bored out of his mind. He was idle and he hated being idle. He fidgeted constantly and he was always looking at his email hoping that something interesting was going to come through. Nothing. Though he couldn’t write, take notes, or draw, he still could type. So while Elena was out, Nate jumped on the computer and went about contacting some of his “friends.”

                He first wrote an email to Chloe Frazer. He knew her well and had kept a mild connection with her. He asked her if she knew of any leads and if anything would be worth attention. Then he wrote his friend Cutter. He and Cutter went back a ways. They were close and did jobs together when they could. But their needs and ambitions sometimes were not the same, so it was harder to find jobs consistently with him. He reached out to two other contacts, hoping that one of them would have something in mind that could use his help. Sitting back in his seat he had to sigh. In not one email did he clarify his condition and his arm. He was just reaching out, but he knew that as soon as he told them, “I broke my arm,” they’d crumble and disregard his message.

                He scratched the stubble on his chin with his left hand and grumped. He had to find something to do! His stomach growled lowly and he glanced back at the kitchen. He knew how to cook. He laughed out loud. He knew how to cook to stay alive. He didn’t usually cook for pleasure. Elena had a cookbook though, maybe he’d learn. He stood up and made his way to the shelf, pulling the book off the shelf and looking through it. He had to be honest, he didn’t even know what Elena had in the fridge. He opened it and looked in. What was he supposed to make with any of that? “Cheese,” he muttered as he pulled it out. “I can make a grilled cheese.”

                Thirty minutes later, Nate found himself putting out a literal fire in his girlfriend’s kitchen. He felt a surge of panic, not because her apartment almost burnt down, but because he was afraid of what she was going to say. He stood there, water soaking everything, including his fancy grilled cheese sandwich. He shoulders slumped and he stared hopelessly at the mess, a bowl in his hand which he used to smother the fire. Black smoke filled the living area. “Why,” he whined as he leaned against the counter. Honestly, though, he didn’t want to clean it up. He wasn’t supposed to get his cast wet anyhow. And in a grunt of disgust, he tossed the bowl (thankfully it was plastic) and left to go find food. He’d clean it when he got back before Elena got home.

                That plan did not work. He was sure he wasn’t gone for more than fifteen minutes. Subway was literally right across the street. And yet, somehow, Elena stood in his mess as he came through the door, whistling, and holding his sandwich bag in hand. The whistle instantly stopped and he froze, looking guiltily into Elena’s hard eyes. She was livid. “What… the… fuck,” she said softly though it was clearly apparent that she was holding back from smashing his head in with the burnt frying pan.

                Nate smiled softly, hiding his fear of getting walloped in the face again, and set his sandwich bag down on the table. “I can explain…” Usually when he used that saying it was under different contexts. “I was going to clean it up, I swear. I was just hungry and wanted to eat first.”

                “Nathan!” Elena threw her arms in the air. “You can’t just leave it like this!”

                “I know,” he agreed quickly. “I said I was going to clean it up.”

                “This is my apartment!” Elena continued to yell.

                “At least it didn’t burn down,” he tried to comfort. “I mean, that’d be worse, right?”

                Elena stared at him.

                “Look,” Nate grabbed a towel. “Whatever the damage is, I can pay for it.”

                “It’s not about that,” Elena rubbed her face. “It’s that you left it like this!”

                Nate frowned. “I was going to clean it up,” he said strongly, for the third time.

                Elena threw her towel at him. “Yeah, you are. I can’t handle this right now!” And with that, she stomped out of her apartment, slamming the door behind her.

                Nate looked at the two towels in his hands, then back at his stomach. “Like I said,” he said to no one in particular. “I will clean it up.” He then tossed the towels onto the counter and went back to the table to eat his sandwich.

                Elena was furious. She even took it with a bit of disrespect from him. She was allowing him to live there, even though he had no relationship obligation or paid any rent. And although she knew he didn’t mean to light her kitchen on fire, or dump water all over, it was the matter of fact that he didn’t even have the respect to clean up after his mess. She gritted her teeth and rubbed her forehead. “What am I going to do with him!” She clenched her fist and continued down to the supermarket. She was going to buy a lot of hot pockets… or maybe he’d just light them on fire in the microwave too.

                Nate tossed the last of the wet towels in a pile by the door. Tomorrow he’d do laundry and throw them in with his shirts. He wiped his forehead and looked at the door. Elena had been gone for a well over an hour. He was starting to worry. He looked at the cookbook and for a second about making her dinner, before laughing out loud and going back to the computer. He opened his email in great hopes of something entertaining to do. He knew Cutter might not actually get his message until morning as he was on the other side of the world. But as it loaded, a message from Chloe instantly popped up.

                                _Hey there Cowboy,_

_Long time no talk. What makes you think that I’d tell you about any secrets I’m uncovering? You’d just come steal them away anyway. Doesn’t matter, I hear that you missed a great opportunity in Arizona for Montezuma’s gold. What would you have done with all that gold? It’s cursed don’t you know. I’m surprised you aren’t here in Spain digging up … Oh wait, that’s right, I wasn’t going to tell you. I do look forward to seeing you again, even if it’s your backend running off._

_Chloe_

                Nate glared at the screen. “Damn it, Chloe!” He frowned. He tapped the keyboard, thinking of telling her to fuck off and that she’s a bitch, but couldn’t phrase it right. He instead wrote back that he wasn’t looking for anything but something to do and that he missed her too, a blatant lie. He shut the computer and looked down at his cast. He wasn’t even going to tell her that he’d broken his arm. She’d probably love that. He’d end up talking to her later anyway.              

                Elena opened the door to see Nate staring at his cast. He looked up at her and smiled weakly. He pointed back at the kitchen. “Happy? I cleaned it up?” She didn’t need that kind of attitude, his kind of attitude. She rolled her eyes and set the three bags of hot pockets and frozen meals on the table in front of him.

                “Nathan,” she began softly. She pulled out a microwave meal, frozen meatloaf, and potatoes, and pointed at the directions on the back. “You are only going to cook these. Do you understand? And exactly how it says on the box.”

                Nate laughed, because it really was funny, but stopped when he noticed Elena was not laughing.

                “I’m serious.” She looked at the time. “It says to cook for seven minutes,” she said as she pointed. “Not seven minutes and thirty seconds, not thirty minutes and seven seconds,” she tapped the directions.

                Nate was feeling a bit degraded at this point. “I know how to use a microwave,” he defended.

                “I thought you knew how to use a stove,” Elena objected. “The point is, that I’m going to an interview with the newspaper tomorrow and I will be gone for almost two hours. If I come back and my apartment is burnt down, flooded, wrecked, or anything other than the state that it is in, I’m going break your other arm.”

                “You’d just be stuck with me longer,” Nate mumbled.

                Elena continued to stare coldly at him.

                “Okay, okay,” he defended, putting his hands up. “I promise. No more using the stove.”

                Elena grabbed the frozen meals and made her way to the freezer.

                “Did you get a variety at least?”

                “Yes,” she responded. “I’m kind enough not have you just eat one flavor.”

                Nate nodded as he got up and stood behind her watching her load the frozen meals and hot pockets into the freezer. “I am sorry,” he whispered again.

                Elena facepalmed. She turned and looked up at him. He smiled softly, like a little puppy, guilty of making a mess in the house. “Just, don’t do it again, please,” she smiled back, patting his chest, feeling his ring under his shirt.

                Nate nodded. “Let me at least take you out to dinner,” he offered. He scratched his head awkwardly. “You name the place.”

                Elena chuckled inside. One thing she had learned about Nathan Drake, was his sense of money was a little weak and liberal. If he had it, he’d spend it. She on the other hand, even though she was a bit richer than most with her gold deposited and cashed, she was also jobless. She didn’t really make it out of that incident in Panama without consequences. After arriving back in the office, her manager was quick to point out the amount of money that was lost in the equipment and resources. It was a hard decision but he had to let her go. There was no way the CEOs were going to let her go with that kind of disgrace. The only reason why she couldn’t give him a story to publish was because of the lack of clear and proofed evidence, and the content was more than unbelievable. She was sure that she could live for the next five or seven years comfortably on her share of the treasure, but that wasn’t making a name for herself. That wasn’t Elena-like.

                When they arrived from dinner, Nate went straight to the computer to check his email. Elena did find it a little odd, but the more she got to know Nate, the odder she thought of him. She instead went to the bathroom to shower for the night. Nate opened the computer and turned it on. An email from Cutter binged into his email.

                                _Hello Nate,_

_Let me look around. I’m on my way to Arizona to look for some Native American’s gold. I thought it sounded more of like your thing, but I wasn’t going to tell them that! I would rather be investigating the Holy Grail if I had to go to the United States. But we both know it’s actually in Switzerland. Haha. No matter. If I hear anything, I will let you know. Don’t go too looney._

_Cheers_

_Cutter_

                Nate sighed heavily. He wrote a short reply that he was on vacation and just looking for something easy after, and shut his computer. Maybe tomorrow would be better. He could hear the shower on behind him. A hot shower sounded amazing. He looked at his cast. “What a pain in that ass you are,” he growled at his arm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, if you haven't read it, you should. I'm giving a shout out to enelle1989's story: Shadow of Greatness. Not that I want you to stop reading mine... but it's really good! Enelle1989, UPLOAD A NEW CHAPTER! I can't wait to read the next chapter! 
> 
> On another note, this chapter left my husband laughing. I hope you enjoyed it too.


	5. Obsession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nate gets so bored his mind makes up an adventure for him.

                Things had gotten better for Nate in the next couple days. He did as he was asked, and only used the microwave for his lunches, but since they were both unemployed, they spent more time together. She took him to a museum, only if he promised to keep his hand to himself, and they went a movie the next day. Nate understood that the job she really wanted was now potentially gone, and it was somewhat his fault. He tried to make up for it, and in some ways he did. One thing that didn’t happen was sex. He couldn’t blame her. It was probably hard for her to even sleep in the same bed, but Elena was kinder than some of his exes. It was not easy for him though. Nate woke, messy bed head, dry mouth, and sore, in the same bed as a beautiful blonde Elena. Her bedtime shorts accented her butt just perfectly, and her tank top strap hung softly off her shoulder. He felt himself more than aroused and he wondered if all his wrongs could be forgotten for thirty minutes. He leaned over, laying his casted arm over her, and pressed his hips against her rear. He groaned in her ear. “Elena,” a whimper escaped.

                Elena rubbed against him and moaned back as she began to wake. She smiled mischievously and snickered as his fingers through his cast ran down her arm. She rubbed against him again.

                “Hey,” he whispered. His hand ducked under the blanket and slipped under her shirt. Elena instinctively jumped as she was super ticklish in the mornings and laughed. As she turned, she opened her eyes opened to see her alarm clock.

                “Shit,” she whispered.

                “What?”

                “Is it really nine?”

                Nate stopped his antics and looked. “Yeah. So?”

                Elena jumped out of the bed and ran to get dressed.

                “Am I missing something?” Nate sat up and adjusted himself. _There goes the morning_ , he thought sadly.

                “I have a doctor’s appointment at nine-thirty!”

                Nate fell back into bed with a groan. He lifted his head in time to see her put panties on and slip on some pants. “Do you want me to go with you?”

                Elena laughed out loud. “Not that kind of appointment, Dear.”

                Nate nodded dumbly. “I’ve got things to do anyway.”

                And off she went, with Nate, still lying in bed, still horney, still frustrated, and still with a broken arm. He stayed still for a moment, debating what he “had to do.” Then reached with his right arm to touch himself. “Fucking cast.” That obviously wasn’t going to work. He looked at his casted hand. “Really!?” He reached with his left hand but after a few strokes stopped and laid motionless on the bed. It was too awkward and too weird. “Cold shower it is.” Showering with a cast was odd in itself. He wrapped his arm and wrist in a plastic bag and just used his left for washing his hair and face. As he applied facewash, he took notice to how his beard had grown. Usually, he could be found with stubble. He shaved as often as he could, but after a few days in the jungles and such, a stubble was rather normal. He got out of the shower and looked in the mirror, wiping the fog off of it. “Huh,” he said softly. He admired it. He’d never had a beard before. It was new. He looked at his bagged casted arm again and shrugged. “Not like I can shave anyway.”

                Nate wasn’t home alone too long this time. He checked his email. He had actually been talking with Cutter, who didn’t know anything about Montezuma. It was keeping him entertained, to say the least. Cutter was not an explorer. He was into conspiracies and a thug, to say the least. Cutter’s specialty was robbing, like, banks, diamonds, and safes. He and Nate became friends that way, but Nate wanted to be in the History books, Cutter did not. So finding the long-lost gold wasn’t a huge thing for him. In the emails, he even said how bored he was. Nate had to laugh.  Sully had also emailed him asking for him to call him. Nate emailed him back, even though he was more surprised that Sully used email to begin with. When Nate did find his phone, he noticed that Sully had called six times.

                “Hello?” His voice was rough, but not agitated or rushed.

                “Hey,” Nate replied.

                “Hey, Kid. I haven’t heard from you in a few weeks and was wondering how your trip was going?”

                “Oh,” Nate suddenly felt guilty. “Yeah…”

                “What happened?”

                “I broke my arm.”

                Sully instantly let out a laugh, then coughed to cover it up. “Sorry,” he apologized. “But how did you of all people break your arm? Don’t tell me you fell.”

                Nate was happy that Sully couldn’t see his face. “Well… I fell out of a tree.”

                A snicker was Sully’s reply.

                “So, I’m not in Arizona.”

                “Where are you then?”

                “Still at Elena’s place. I’m staying here till my arm feels better I suppose.”

                “You suppose?”

                Nate shrugged. He sat down on the couch and put his feet up on the coffee table. “I don’t have anywhere else to go.”

                “Home,” Sully replied sarcastically.

                “That’s boring. No one is there to take care of me.”

                “That’s what I thought,” Sully continued to chuckle.

                “You don’t happen to have a job or anything in mind, do you?”

                “No, I just barely got to Mexico. I’m sitting here on the beach on my third margarita. But I am supposed to mitigate a load into Guatemala on Sunday.”

                Nate scratched at his beard. “Do I even want to know?”

                “Probably not,” Sully replied softly. “There isn’t anything you’d be interested in. Plus you can’t do much with your arm broken.”

                “It’s my right arm,” Nate admitted softly.

                “Damn, Kid.” Sully apologized. “You can’t do anything till that heals.”

                Nate nodded, even though Sully couldn’t see it.

                “Well,” Sully sighed. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

                “Yeah,” Nate said as he looked at the wall. There was a picture of some statue that he was trying to recognize. “I guess I’ll call you when I’m ready to leave, huh?”

                “Sure. I’m just south of the border here.”

                “Stay safe.”

                “Yup.”

                Nate shut his phone and tossed it by his feet on the coffee table. “Even Sully has things to do I can’t help with.” He sighed and let his head fall back, now looking up at the ceiling. He chewed on his lip as he thought about the last few days. He was going on about nine days now of being bored. He was starting to make up adventures in his head just to entertain himself. Like the picture. He looked at it again. He’d seen that statue before, but why would Elena have it? And his mind began to wander. It was of some religious figure, on the tip of his tongue, holding out the cross while riding a horse. He didn’t think Elena was that religious, though it was a beautiful statue, it didn’t fit her as he knew her. He growled at himself and stood up, making his way to the fridge to get out milk for some cereal. As he poured the cereal and milk, he stopped as a thought came to mind. “Wait…” He looked at the door, wondering when Elena was supposed to return. He set the milk down and ate a spoonful. As he began to think, he put his spoon down and rushed to his backpack.

                Nate opened his backpack and pulled out two books and his notebook. One book had pages bookmarked, written in, and notes shoved in between pages. The other book was older, more preserved, and wrapped in a handkerchief. Lastly, he tossed his notebook on the table and sat down. He quickly started going through his notes, opening the books and looking through it, scanning the pages. He was looking for something specific, something that he’d not taken into account. He finally stopped as he came to the page he was thinking about. There on the page was Sir Francis Drake’s crest. He stared at it, looking at his stolen motto at the bottom, “Sic Parvus Magnus.” At the top, above God’s hand holding the rope to Drake’s ship, words which he had not paid too much attention to suddenly came to mind. “Auxilio Divino,” he muttered. “Between the two poles…” he read in his notes…

                Nathan may have been manic, or suffering from extreme boredom, but this was the first time Elena would see him so obsessed. She walked in to see papers all over the floor, and him sitting in the middle of them, scratching his head, and growling in frustration as he thought. “You okay there?” Her voice was ignored. “Nathan.”

                Nate looked up, looking honestly surprised she was there.

                “What are you doing?”

                Nate looked back at his mess. “Sir Francis Drake was a pirate,” he muttered as he started going through his notebook. “He robbed the Spanish continuously of their silver and gold.”

                “I know this,” Elena nodded as she watched him.

                “He has in his journal of all these ships that were robbed. Look,” Nate said as he gave Elena his notebook, pointing to a page that was written in Latin. “But if you look at the amount that he gave to the crown, it’s not that much.”

                Elena raised her eyebrow.

                “He hid it somewhere, to go back later from it.” Nate pointed to his crest. “It’s between the two poles…”

                “We need to find you something to do.” Elena gave the journal back to Nate and move to her kitchen.

                Nate pouted for a moment. But ignored her and went back to reading. “He was a religious man,” he muttered. “So what church, between the poles…. Has his Spanish silver…”

                Elena nodded as she watched him. “Yup,” she laughed softly. “He’s lost it.”

                “Did you think I lost it when I pulled out the coffin?” Nate looked behind him at Elena with a smirk.

                “I am not even believing myself when it comes to that whole…” she waved her arms in the air, “That … adventure.”

                Nate laughed out loud. He remained on the floor for a few more hours, shifting through papers, dialing in on where his ancestor had hidden this suspected silver.

                “So,” Elena motioned to her face and nodded at Nathan. “Decided to go with a beard?”

                Nate looked up and blinked. “Yeah.” He smirked. “What do you think?”

                Elena let out a laugh. “I don’t like it at all.”

                Nate chuckled.

                “You look ….”

                He scratched his cheek.

                “Like a ruffian,” she continued.

                Nate shrugged it off and went back to his maps. “I’m seeing how it grows out.”

                Elena sat on the couch and set her legs on the coffee table as she grabbed her computer. She glanced back at Nate, still amazed at his beard. It wasn’t becoming on him at all. She thought he looked funny. She opened her email and scrolled through what was mostly junk mail. One from yesterday stopped her. Her eyes got wide as she realized it was from the Editor in Chief… the one she missed. She opened it and quickly read the words.

                _Dear Ms. Elena Fisher,_

_We have reviewed your resume, considered you, and have discussed your request to be overseas. We understand your great reputation as well as your disappointing failures. However, I wanted to write you personally and tell you that I saw you at the city’s celebration bar-b-q helping that gentleman and how you went out of your way to care for him. We worried and discussed your ambitions after your interview, but seeing you care for that man, I now know that you told the truth when you said you wanted to expose evil and find the truth. Your intentions are for the good of your neighbors. Your integrity, despite your reputation, is in tack. I’m inviting you to lunch this week. Please let me know when you can come. I’d like to discuss the possibility of employment._

_Jonnathan Kane_

_Editor In Chief_

_San Diego branch of Associated Press_

                “He wants to have lunch…”

                Nate perked his head up. “Who?”

                “Jonnathan Kane…”

                Nate tilted his head to the side. “Who?”

                “That job I wanted…”

                “With the Associated Press?”

                Elena nodded.

                Nate jumped up. “Seriously? That’s good right?”

                Elena nodded as she looked up at him all happy. “This is really good!”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm working on the relationship here... what do you all think? Don't worry, there's more trouble ahead.


	6. Parmesan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elena is finding herself annoyed at Nate's mess and his beard. When she fixes dinner, she just asks him to go out and get some Parmesan cheese.

                It was late when Elena came home from her new job.  It was the end of her first week and she had to admit she was feeling rather guilty about leaving Nathan home alone so much. He was still obsessing over his relative’s so-called treasure, and she was starting to notice how lazy he was. She noticed before, no doubt, but it was more of what she had experienced with every other boyfriend she had. His clothes had moved into piles, and her cute apartment was slowly turning into bachelor’s pad. This was quite an annoyance. In the last week, however, Nathan had found things to do with his broken arm. He made his way around to local libraries and such to further his interest in his current obsession. That particular night, Nate had explained he’d be out late and that he was probably not going to be home till around midnight.

                “Nate?” She asked as she shut the door softly. The lights were off and the apartment was still, but she still felt the need to call out his name to ensure herself he was gone.

                There was no response. That was okay, Elena had plans to just relax and enjoy the quiet of her own home, possibly do some cleaning, and relax without him bothering her. A bubble bath was sounding amazing.

“He has no care to clean up after himself does he,” she asked herself as she dropped her work bag and walked back to her bedroom to change. As she changed into something more comfortable, she had to look back a little. She didn’t mind him around at all. Sure, he was snarky, sarcastic, and a little troublesome, she enjoyed his company in a general aspect. As she began to wonder how long he was going to stay, she heard the front door open. Elena remembered that Nate wasn’t supposed to be home till later, and suddenly her stomach turned as she remembered that she walked home in the dark, alone, and then left her front door unlocked. Her heart jumped into her throat as she turned and hid against the wall. She could hear the person flipping through stuff on the table and she peered out hoping it was Nate.

                What Elena saw in the darkness was a bold figure, dark, dirty, and… “Oh,” She gasped in surprise.

                Nate turned and tilted his head. “Did I surprise you?” He looked up and smiled softly.

                “Your beard did. I didn’t recognize you for a moment!” She laughed. “Dear God, when are you going to shave that thing!”

                Nate scratched at it. It was starting to get itchy, but he was growing to like it. “What? You don’t like it?”

Elena shook her head. “God, no!” She laughed.

                Nate frowned. “Makes me look like a man,” he joked.  

                “Shave it,” she called from the bedroom as she turned and returned to the room. There goes her evening and quiet.

                “I can’t,” he called back, taking off his shoes. “My arm’s broken and my wrist is casted.”

                “I will shave it!”

                Nate thought for a second before shaking his head and sitting down in his mess. “No way,” he replied.

                Elena rolled her eyes as she came out and opened the fridge. “And this mess is getting out of control,” she remarked quickly, almost motherlike.

                Nate sat down amidst his mess and started to pick up papers.

                “Did you find anything else on your treasure hunt?” Elena began pulling things out of the fridge for an early dinner.

                Nate frowned. “I don’t know… I’m beginning to think that my mind is making this up for me.” He leaned back on his arms and looked over at Elena. She was in her little shorts and a tight tank top. He quickly found himself aroused by her bending over to get stuff out of the fridge, and preparing everything for a dinner. He reached down to adjust himself and he looked back at his papers, then back at her. Now that she had a job, and the one that she wanted, she was in a better, more forgiving mood. They were back doing what they did best: having wild and passionate sex. He smirked as he remembered the last couple nights.

                “What are you smirking about?”

                Nate woke up from his daydream as he looked at Elena. “Huh?”

                “You’re sitting there smirking. Did you figure it out?”

                Nate rolled over and stood up, walking over to the counter, standing across the island from Elena. “Just thinking about last night,” he chuckled. “You’re hard to forget.”

                Elena laughed.

                “We make a great couple,” Nate reached out and stole a carrot. “We live together, we don’t fight often, and we have great sex.”

                Elena put her knife down and raised an eyebrow at the bearded intruder at the other end of her island.

                “I know it was good for you because the neighbors banged on the wall and told us to keep it down.”

                “If we were a great couple,” Elena picked her knife back up and began chopping up the vegetables, “you’d have enough respect for me and my home to clean up after yourself, participate in this house, and shave,” she waved her knife at his face.

                “If we were a great couple, I’d shave,” Nate laughed. “You’re cute.”

                “I’m saying that you’d have a little more respect for me around here,” she said as indicated her home with her hands. “Look,” she pointed. “How long has your laundry sat there? And all your papers and journals are crowding the living room.”

                Nate frowned. “That’s an easy fix. I can clean it up.” He leaned across the counter, inches from her face. “But first, you should kiss me.”

                Elena squinted. “You are still a guest,” she reminded softly.

                Nate pulled back. “Are you kicking me out?”

                “No,” Elena sighed. “I’m reminding you that you are a temporary equation in this apartment.”

                Nate scratched his chin. “Yeah,” whispered as he turned around. “I’ve probably overstayed my welcome huh.” He looked at his mess. “I don’t think I’ve ever stayed at a home other than mine for a month before…”

                “I’m not kicking you out,” Elena rolled her eyes at his puppy dog display. “Just pick your shit up.”

                Nate’s shoulder sank in defeat and he went over to gather his papers up. “I just wanted a kiss…” he pouted. His idea and his thoughts were falling apart the deeper he engrossed into this idea that Sir Francis Drake hid some of his treasure at a church somewhere on the Equator. It would take him back to Panama if he had it right, but there was no church in Panama that was as old as he needed. He was beginning to think he was bored for too long.

                “We should go to the beach,” Elena offered, trying to get some attention again. “Maybe after dinner?”

                Nate looked up at her and scratched his incoming and thickening beard. “I suppose so.”

                Elena turned the stove on and added oil to the pan. She looked over to see him staring at a book. “I’m pretty sure the treasure will be there when you find it.”

                Nate shut the book and put it into a nice pile with the papers. He then scooted over to his piles of clothes. This was his dirty pile of clothes. He scrunched his nose at the smell. “It’s time to do laundry,” he admitted to himself. He pulled the shirt he was wearing to his nose. “Yuck.”

                “Yeah,” Elena laughed as she sautéed the veggies. “I wasn’t going to say anything.”

                Nate took his shirt off and tossed it in the pile. That was that. He needed to shower. “I have no clean clothes,” he admitted. “If I jump in the shower, will you take these down to the wash?”

                Elena laughed out loud. “You’re just going to walk around naked?”

                Nate shrugged as he grinned, lifting his eyebrows at Elena. “Would that not be okay?”

                Elena continued to laugh. “You’re really trying here!”

                Nate continued to smirk as he stood up and walked back to the kitchen island, shirtless.

                Elena turned around and laughed again, but this time it was a little more of a laugh at him, and Nathan caught on rather quickly.

                He looked down at himself. “What?”

                “You just look ridiculous!”

                Nate looked at himself again.

                “Your beard!”

                Nate ran his fingers through his facial hair. “I’m not shaving it,” he stated again.

                Elena rolled her eyes as she filled a pot with some water and put it on the stove. She had to admit, even with his shaggy beard, his tight abs and broad shoulders, she was very turned on. Getting another glimpse of her eye candy, however, would make his ego even bigger, so she had to pretend to not be interested. She instead grumped as she looked through the fridge. “Hey,” she called back to him. “Would you be that respectful participant of the household and run down to the store and get some grated parmesan?”

                “Parmesan?”

                “Yeah… cheese?”

                Nate shrugged, picking up a dirty shirt from the pile. “I suppose so.” He slipped on his shoes. “Then will you give me a kiss?”

                Elena giggled. “Yes, I suppose so.”

                Nate puffed out his chest and skipped out the door. _Finally_ , she thought to herself. _Some more quiet_. She found her remote to her radio, turned on some relaxing music, and sat down with her book as she waited for her water to boil. As she turned a page, she looked over at Nate’s haphazard pile of papers. She was curious, being that potentially owed her for the last trip’s disaster. She could use a good story like this to impress her new boss… She put the book down, looking at the door to make sure Nate was coming in at that moment and slid down off the couch to investigate his papers.

                “Huh,” she said as she looked through. “This sounds really familiar…” After just looking at a few of papers, she didn’t think he was completely looney, but highly unlikely. “I wonder if it’s a church back home in England…” She looked up as she heard some ne running up the steps outside her apartment. She quickly set the papers down and took a few fast steps towards the boiling water to put the noodles in.

                Nate opened the door and shut it quickly behind him, sounding, and looking, out of breath.

                “Was there a rush?” Elena looked him up and down, curious to why he looked so startled.

                Nate shrugged. “Just thought I’d run the whole way.”

                Elena squinted her eyes. “What did you do?”

                “Nothing,” Nate snapped back. He put a container of Parmesan cheese on the counter.

                “Nathan!” Elena griped. “This isn’t even real cheese!” It was a container from Kraft, and usually, the parmesan that you find in pizza parlors.

                He stared at it. “It says…”

                Elena cut him off. “Have you never had parmesan before?”

                Nate shrugged.

                “Can you get a bag of cheese? Even a block?”

                Nate huffed. “I think this will be fine,” he waved her off.

                In the distance, police sirens drove by and Nate looked out the window.

                “What did you do?” Elena accused in a louder voice.

                “Nothing,” Nate called back. “Can I not look out the window?”

                “Why do I not believe you?” She put her hands on her hips and looked at him with skepticism. 

                He chose just to ignore her completely.

                “Did you steal the cheese?”

                Nate growled. “No! I can afford cheese thank you!”

                Elena’s look did not change.

                Nate shoved his hand in his pocket to provide the receipt, though he looked surprised when Elena actually looked at it.

He sat down at the table and pulled up his email.  Obviously that was the end of the conversation so Elena let it be and grabbed her fake parmesan to continue making dinner. She knew something was up, but it didn’t seem he was going to admit it to her. Her mind drifted back to work and what she could write about to give her editor enough confidence to assign her a big project.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been a while. I'm fighting writer's block. Let me know what you think. What mischief could Nate be getting himself into!?


	7. The fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elena finds out what happened and is not happy about it.

                Nate didn’t watch the news. He didn’t need to. He had other things on his mind. So when Elena called him and asked him if he’d seen it, he said no. He’d been emailing Cutter, talking with Sully, and deciding what to do next. An investor had emailed him about obtaining some gems for her collection and had heard he was her guy. He debated on it. He sat leaned back, munching contently on some pretzels, as he read the description and requests. He chuckled. This investor had told him far more information than she should have before payment and agreement to employment. Still, he pouted. He had a few weeks before the cast was removed.

                He stood up and stretched and looked at his watch. It’d be another couple hours before Sully would be able to talk. As he took another handful of pretzels, his phone rang. “Hello,” he said casually.

                “Nathan.”

                “Hey ‘Lena. What’s going on?”

                “You haven’t seen the news?”

                “No,” Nate ate another pretzel. “I’m emailing people and looking at a job. What’s going on?”

                “You’re on it.”

                “I am not.”

                “You didn’t think I’d figure it out?”

                “Figure out what?”

                “Nathan,” Elena’s voice warned. “I work for the press.” Her voice suddenly got quiet and he could hear her walking. “What did you do?”

                “Elena,” Nate argued. “What are you talking about?”

                “Someone got into a fight outside of Safeway.”

                Nate gulped. “Oh…”

                “Knocked two guys out. One’s in the hospital. They are looking for a man, fitting your description.”

                “Oh,” Nate chuckled. “It’s not what it seems.”

                “Do tell,” Elena growled. “Because your description is going into the paper!”

                Nate sighed. “They took a swing at me first,” he defended. “Someone yelled fight, and when I had knocked the second guy out, someone yelled cops.”

                “So, you ran?” He could hear the disbelief in her voice.

                “I kicked their ass,” Nate chuckled.

                There was silence on the other end and Nate scratched at his beard. He looked at his computer as it showed a new email. “They are saying that you assaulted them.”

                “Elena, you know how these things are.”

                “No, Nate.” Her voice was low and angry. “I don’t. Please explain it to me.”

                Nate motioned circled with his hands even though Elena couldn’t see them. “You know… The media. It’s always putting things out of proportion.”

                “What?”

                Nate sighed again.

                “We don’t just print garbage and lies.”

                “I’m not saying that,” he tried to explain. “But you weren’t there, so you don’t know.”

                “I don’t have time for this. Just don’t go outside. I will be home soon.”

                He looked at his phone as she hung up. From the simple sounds of her voice, he knew she was pissed. He didn’t think it was that big of a deal. He didn’t kill anyone. And they threw the first punches. He only ran because he didn’t like dealing with the police. They had a habit of arresting him, and his record would show some interesting things. So, he ran home. No big deal. He set his phone down on the counter and sat down at his computer again. He opened the new email to see it was from Cutter.

                _Nate,_

_Not sure if you know… but this guy is a psycho maniac. I think he’s going to get us freaking killed. I don’t think there’s gold anywhere near here. Attached is a map and a couple pages from my journal. Please look at it and tell me if we are on the right track here. If not, I’m going to bail before this guy leads us into a mine shaft._

_Charlie Cutter_

                Nathan opened the links and looked at them with little interest. None of it looked correct if he was there. He pressed reply.

                _Charlie,_

_Some of these pictures and sketches do not match the Aztec design. They look very Pueblo. I’m not sure where he’s leading you, but you are not on any trail that I’d follow. Good luck buddy._

_Nate_

                He leaned back in his chair. “Well, I’m happy I didn’t go after that…” He muttered to himself. “But I could sure use the money,” he smirked as he began to consider the lady’s jewels offer. He got up and moved to the fridge to retrieve one of his microwavable snacks. As he popped the Hot Pocket into the microwave and set the time, he leaned against the counter. His mind was racing with opportunities and ideas. Charlie was good with jewel heists. It wasn’t particularly his kind of job, more like Charlie’s and he wondered if they could go halves in doing it.

                The door opened quickly, almost scaring Nathan as he jumped from his thoughts and looked surprisingly at Elena standing there. “Good,” she glared. “You didn’t run away.”

                “Why would I do that,” Nate asked confused. “You told me to stay here.”

                Elena didn’t respond as she set her bag down and took her shoes off.

                Nate heard the microwave bing and he turned to retrieve his snack. He put it on the counter to let it cool and smiled at Elena. “So,” he said casually. “Are you still mad at me?” He knew the answer to the question. He could easily tell just by her body language, let alone her glares.

                “Yeah.” She held back screaming at him. “What were you thinking?”

                Nate sighed. “It’s not that big of a deal,” he tried to reason. “No one got hurt.”

                “You assaulted someone.”

                Nate stood up defensively and pointed a finger at the general direction of the store. “They threw the first punch.”

                “Why did they try to punch you? What did you do?”

                Nate threw his hands up. “Why do you think that this whole thing is ultimately my fault?”

                Elena grumped and put her hands on her hips.

                “I tripped and fell into a guy’s car. And he and his buddy got out and yelled at me for touching his car.” Nate folded his arms. “I just told them to grow up and get a life.”

                Elena squinted at him, obviously not believing him. She was sure there was more said. “But you ran,” she said softly and simply. “That makes you guilty.”

                “Because I ran,” Nate laughed.

                “If you would have stayed, you could have given your statement,” she reasoned.

                Nathan laughed out loud. “Police don’t like me.”

                “Obviously,” Elena laughed.

                He threw his hands in the air and sighed. “I’m not going to turn myself in. I didn’t do anything wrong. And in a few days, this will blow over and they will forget it.”

                “That’s how you handle everything isn’t it,” Elena sharply accused. “Just ignore the problem.”

                “There isn’t a problem,” he clarified, holding a finger up, seemingly correcting her. “You all are making a problem.”

                “We?”

                “Who else?”      

                “We,” she reinstated again. “We just make up stories?’

                Nate then realized what he had just said and put his head in his hands and whined.

                “Nate,” Elena leaned on the island across of him as she withheld screaming at him. “It’s not made up if you did it!”

                Nate grumped with his head in his hands as a response.

                “What bothers me the most is that I am now holding a fugitive in my home as a fucking guest!” This time she let her voice go. “Do you not understand the integrity and the transparency I’m supposed to uphold?”

                Nate laughed out loud. He stood up and grabbed his Hot Pocket and took a bite. “Now you are being ridiculous.”

                “It’s ridiculous?”

                “Yeah,” he said with his mouth full. “You’re a journalist, not a saint.”

                “I’m not supposed to be supporting the bad guys,” she sneered.

                “I’m a bad guy, huh.” He took another bite and moved away from the kitchen and into the living room where he sat on the couch. “And,” he swallowed his bite. “Let me guess, you are the goodie two shoes who catches and exposes the bad guy.”

                Elena glared hard. He was mocking her. “You’re an ass.”

                Nathan laughed out loud, almost dropping his snack. “Well, at least you’re not making that up.”

                “You can’t leave here until this blows over.” Elena rubbed her face with frustration.

                “You’re going to hold me hostage?”

                “No, but if anyone saw you with me, I could lose my job.” She looked at him eating his snack. He was hardly even paying attention to her. “Do you even care?”

                He shrugged. “Not really.”

                Elena growled and bit her lip. “You really fucked up this time.”

                “Because I defended myself?” Nate turned his head to look at her, eating his last bite of his snack. “I did nothing wrong. But the media and the police are out to get me. They always have.”

                “That’s because you’re a criminal!”

                Nate stood up and walked to the door.

                “Where are you going?” She demanded as she marched over to him.

                “Out.”

                “Nathan!”

                Nate turned to look at Elena, his face stern. His eyes showed the hurt of the fight, but his brows low in determination. “No,” he said firmly. “If I’m the bad guy, I’m not going to listen to the good guy tell me what to do. I’m just going to commit more crimes.” He slipped on his shoes and slammed the door behind him.

                Elena screamed out her frustration as she waved her fists up and down. “Fuck you, Nathan Drake,” she screamed. She turned and stomped into her room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry so long. I had surgery and was too drugged up to get any work done. I hope you all like it. I will try to get another chapter out to you soon. I have some other works in mind.


	8. Break Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After such accusations and hurt feelings, Nate leaves. Now they must both deal with their feelings.

                There were a lot of hurt feelings. And that was just the beginning of it. Both parties weren’t sure how they wanted to proceed. Though Elena had put up with too much of his bull shit, she was more shocked and pissed off by his blatant arrogance and his ego. He felt invincible, even with a broken arm. She heard Nate come home last night late, but didn’t get up to greet him. He didn’t come to bed, so she assumed he slept on the couch. That was fine, she thought to herself. She was so livid at him, she didn’t want anything to do with him.

                Nate did come home rather late, and rather drunk. He was pissed that Elena wasn’t even listening to what he was saying. She was so one-sided, not even giving him a chance to explain himself. He felt betrayed in a way. And it made him angry. She knew he wasn’t a bad guy, a criminal, so why did she call him that. Yes, maybe he was a thief, but he wasn’t a person who was out to hurt others, just benefit himself. As he laid in a drunken heap on her couch, he looked up at the ceiling and held his broken arm _. Fuck it all_ , he thought angrily _. I don’t need this shit_. And with that, his eyes closed.

                The next day, Elena left for work rather early, didn’t bother saying one work to Nathan on the couch. She just glared at him as he snored loudly. When he woke up though, he had made up his mind to leave. He sniffed as he scratched his beard and looking at his watch. It was almost noon. It left him plenty of time to pack and leave. There was no need to say bye. He reached for his phone and realized that Charlie Cutter had called him twice. He rubbed his face, sitting up and stretching. He looked around at the apartment, empty without her. He looked back at his phone and called Charlie.

                “About time,” Cutter answered his phone.

                “What’s going on,” Nathan said groggily into the phone.

                “I’m out of here. That guy is nuts.”

                “Probably a better choice.”

                “No shit.”

                “I got a proposal. If you are available, it’s up your alley.”

                “Maybe, am I going to get shot at?”

                Nate laughed. “Can’t guarantee that. But,” he sniffed and rubbed his eye with his free hand. “She wants me to recover some jewels. It’s more your style anyway.”

                “Where is it?”

                “Germany.”

                He could hear Charlie thinking it over.

                “I’m flying out today. I can’t sit here and not do anything,” he lied. “I just have to email her back and accept the job and fly that way.”

                “Yeah, Mate. Just got to stop at my flat in London. There I can pick up some supplies and we are on our way. What’s the pay.”

                Nate chuckled. “It’s not great, but I think we can make it worth our time.”

                He could hear Charlie chuckle as well.

                “Where do I meet you?”

                “Well. I’m driving to fly out of Phoenix.”

                Nate nodded and looked at his watch. “I will drive that way. I’m in California. I will meet you there tomorrow.”

                “I’ll email you where I’m staying.”

                “Later Charlie.”

                “Cheers.”

                Nate stood up and stretched. He started right away at packing everything. It was slow, he had to admit. There was enough money after Panama that he probably didn’t have to work ever again. He could go straight, marry Elena, and leave his life behind him. He could quit being that bad guy. And he debated it as he packed everything. He wouldn’t admit to anyone that he looked back and sighed as he shut the door and left.

                Elena was surprised when she came home and everything of Nathan was gone. She had too many thoughts, too many feelings, to analyze. She was angry, furious, sad, and happy. She knew somewhere deep within herself that it was a temporary thing, but she hoped that it wasn’t. She was still angry with him and didn’t want to talk to him, especially now that he left without even saying bye. She sat down at her small dining room table and looked around. It made her angrier as she thought about it. Slamming her hands down on the table, she said good riddance, wiped a tear from her cheek and moved into the kitchen.

                As Nathan drove to Phoenix, he was also full of emotion and thoughts. He scratched his beard, pulling gently on the hairs as he watched the road ahead of him. He was rationalizing his actions in his head. There were so many excuses: she was demanding, high maintenance… He tried to forget the good times: them lying in bed with the morning sun radiating her blonde hair and light skin, or them eating ice cream together while watching a movie. He’d never gotten a taste of normality, or stability, and it was somewhat attracted to him. He glanced down at his cast. He could see her initials on it with her little saying on it. “Tree: 1 Drake: 0” She thought she was funny. And it still made him smile. He shook his head as he forced a frown. The first thing he’d do was cut the cast off.

                He pulled into Phoenix early in the morning the next day. Cutter had messaged him the hotel they were staying at, and he pulled in, tired and ready to sleep. He grabbed his backpack and trudged up the stairs to Charlie’s room. As Charlie Cutter opened the door, Nathan did not get the reaction that he expected.

                “Can I help you?”

                Nate stared at his friend. “You’re hilarious.”

                “Nathan?” Charlie tilted his head to the side in confusion?

                Nate nodded slowly.

                “Whats with the…” He motioned to Nate’s beard. “It looks like you made out withSasquatch.”

                Nate squinted his eyes at his friend. “Dude,” he sighed.

                “Did you decide to grow pubic hair on your face?”

                “Cutter…”

                “No really, Nate, does it do any tricks? Does it sit or stay?”

                Nate glared back at his friend’s humor. He wasn’t in the mood. He was too tired.

                “Okay, okay,” Charlie laughed. “Come on in. But I will let you know that I didn’t put a pet deposit down. Don’t shave it off it it’s going to bite me.”

                Nate shoved his friend lightly as he entered the hotel room, collapsing on the twin bed nearest to him. “I’m really not in the mood.”

                “Girl problems?” Charlie sat down on the other bed and grabbed the TV remote to change the channel.

                He only rubbed his face and yawned. “That obvious?”

                “I mean,” Charlie continued to talk, “Those are the only problems that trouble Nathan Drake.”

                “She’s just…” She grumped. “It’s complicated.”

                “Mate, girls are complicated. It’s hard to have a simple relationship.”

                Nate didn’t want to talk about it. He only groaned as he kicked his shoes off the threw a pillow over his face. He muttered good night as he heard Charlie laugh at him and change the channel again.

                Elena stared at her phone. She wished so badly that he’d TXT her, an apology, an angry face, anything. The whole day she had time to think. She knew that they were both wrong, that she could have handled the situation better than she did. But she wanted him to want to make it work. And now, the next morning, she found herself looking at her phone debating what she should message him, if at all. She shouldn’t… He left. He made it very clear that he was done with the impromptu relationship. _He’s probably afraid of commitment,_ she thought sourly. _He’s got too much baggage._ She put the phone down as she got up and went to get into the shower. _He’s so wrapped up in himself. He doesn’t think on how his actions affect others._ She turned on the shower and took off her PJs. _I’m trying to help others,_ she reasoned. _I’m trying to make a difference. He’s just out there to make himself better._ Though she tried to reason her actions against his, at the end of the shower, she found herself wrapped in a towel, holding her phone, still frustrated that he hadn’t TXT her.

                She sat at her desk, looking at the computer screen, but unable to form a thought. She couldn’t understand how he had this effect on her. How could he and his actions control her thoughts and daily life? It shouldn’t. She had a job to do. She was now doing what she wanted. She was recovering from her blunder in Panama, and she couldn’t continue to blunder here. She was going to have to get over him. She found herself fiddle with her phone in her pocket. She just wanted it to ring. She just wanted it to buzz. She wanted to open it and to see him TXT her how he was thinking about her like she was thinking of him. But nothing.

                As she arrived home, she had given up on him. And although she knew she was going to feel the true pain of a breakup for a week, she did not expect anything from him anymore. She was going to have to move on. She picked up her phone and began to write a message. As she got half way through, she laughed at herself and tossed her phone on the kitchen counter and walked away.

               

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been a while. I'm hoping to get Chapter 9 out sooner. Bear with me. This is really a filler chapter. Some funny jokes and such. Hope it was still worth the read.


	9. Epilogue-ish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After scene...Now they both have to deal with the separation.

                The first thing Nate did was remove his cast. He bought a Dremel tool, getting a grinder attachment, and off the cast went. He still needed a few more weeks, if not one, for the doctors to approve the removal, but he didn’t care. He, though he wouldn’t admit it, didn’t want to see Elena’s initials anymore. He didn’t want to think about her at all. His feeling of betrayal and hurt were too strong for him to think even logically. Then, Nathan was off to London to Charlie’s apartment.

                The next days were not easy to either of them. Elena now viewed his absence as more of a blessing. She didn’t have to worry about kitchen fires, messy living rooms, or fights. She could put 100% of herself into her new job. Nate, on the other hand, felt the weight of his loss. And it was his loss. He and Cutter readied for the new job in Germany, meeting Sully for a moment in London. Both Sully and Cutter could see the difference in their friend. He was quieter, less interested, and almost depressed.

                As Sully said his quick bye to Nate, he patted him on his shoulder. “Look, Kid,” he said softly. “I don’t know exactly what is bothering you. And I don’t expect you to know either.” Nathan looked up at Sully. “But you have to pull out of it. There’s going to be opportunities that you are going to miss because you choose not to be yourself.” Sully leaned closer to him. “Nathan… I haven’t seen you this bad in years. So you had a bad hand… But another hand is coming, and you have to play that one too.”

                Nate gave a crooked smile. “I’ll be fine,” he nodded. “I’m just tired.”

                Sully nodded. “You know how to reach me.” He patted Nathan’s cheek. “And shave. This makes you look like a homeless ass instead of just ass.”

                Nate laughed and waved Sully off.

                Returning back to Charlie’s loft, Nate tried not to dwell on the week's events. He had a big assignment coming up and he needed to be prime. Charlie talked idly, most of which Nate was too zoned out to hear.

                “You hear me, Mate?”

                Nate turned, being snapped out of his current state of mind. He nodded, not really knowing what he was agreeing to, and looked back out the window. Charlie’s apartment was very simple. Nate had to admit, Charlie was smarter in some ways. For instance, Charlie did not keep any of his stolen relics in open view if he kept them himself. Nathan had junk all over his own apartment. He couldn’t even remember considering that he hadn’t been there for over a year. But Charlie was not an ordinary thief, he specialized in robbery and heists. So his apartment was designed to not be robbed. There was little to see. He had a soccer poster on the wall, a generous library, and some pictures of family which Nate was sure was fake. He moved into the living room as Charlie continued to ramble behind him. He sat down, noticing some brochures on the coffee table. He picked them up, noticing that they were of places that he and Charlie had worked.

                Elena did not sulk over her loss. It wasn’t that it was a loss but it was in the fact that she did have feelings over the handsome troublemaker. They had experienced something together that was completely original. She tried to write it out a couple times, hoping to make a story out of it, but to no avail. It was something that no one would even believe. And, it also made her think of Nathan. She couldn’t have that if she was going to try and get over him. That was the harder part to all of this. He’d stayed at her home for weeks, and to not think of him was harder than it was. But Elena wasn’t going to sulk, she was not going to be a victim. She devoted herself to her work, even spending extra time at the office to try and forget him.

                “Figures,” she muttered as she rolled in bed. “Figures I’m the one to fall for a loser…” She frowned. She knew Nate wasn’t a loser, not at all. But how else was she supposed to get over him if she idolized the guy? She couldn’t get comfortable, and she found herself reaching out for her phone to see if there was a text message. Nothing. She frowned again. “I don’t know why I keep looking,” she continued to mutter. “Nathan Drake doesn’t think about anyone but himself… He’s probably texting himself, not me.” She giggled to herself at that one. As she put her phone back on the bed stand, she began to debate if maybe she should reach out to him. What was she supposed to say? Was she supposed to apologize and beg him to come back? That wasn’t her style. She closed her eyes with a grunt and rolled over again.

                The next morning, Elena got up and puttered around the apartment. She was supposed to have the day off. Her editor told her to take a day and relax, but Elena knew that wasn’t going to happen. She instead did some research on some heavy stories in Europe. Apparently, there was a psycho NATO was going after for some mass murders. It made Elena sick. He was on a warpath and the majority of American news was dismissive of the topic to an extent. There were entire towns that were murdered and burned. He didn’t discriminate, though it did seem that he was looking for something, as he killed anyone who stood in his way. Elena frowned, squinting at the computer screen. This was a man that needed to be brought to justice, and while Europe struggled to contain and stop him, she decided to start working to expose this villain for who he was. Maybe if she did that, America could get involved and stop the bastard.

                Nathan woke and began his day planning his next heist with Charlie Cutter. They admittedly stayed up late last night drinking. Charlie drank because they were having a good time, Nathan drank because he wanted to forget. But they got up and started their day. Nate looked at his arm, expecting to see a cast hindering him. Instead he saw his arm free of restriction and missing a certain someone’s initials. He showered as he could hear Cutter making breakfast. It seemed that suddenly Nathan wasn’t so good at holding his liquor after all. Hopefully, a hot shower and a hot cup of coffee would help him bounce back. They had a busy day ahead of them.

                He got out of the shower, brushed his teeth, and looked at himself in the mirror. He looked tired. “I should just go back to bed,” he debated with himself. He put gel in his hair and ran his fingers through his beard. He stopped, staring at himself, and blinked. What was he doing? He looked ridiculous. “She was right,” he sighed heavily. “This is so stupid…” He ran his fingers as he could hear her in his head. He missed her. He reached into his bag and pulled out a razor and looked at it. He had no excuses. He should have shaved when he was with her, he would have felt better about himself. There was always a sense of self-worth when he was clean shaved and showered. He was not always considering his line of work. Instead, he allowed himself to feel lazy and unworthy. He growled at himself in his head. If the stupid car guys wouldn’t have called him homeless, he wouldn’t have gotten into a fight, and if he would have just shaved like Elena asked, he wouldn’t have gotten called homeless. It didn’t matter anymore. He was going to make himself better, he was going to do this job and get back on his feet. There was no reason to dwell anymore.

                “Look at Mr. Drake there,” Charlie joked. “Looking sharp pal!”

                Nate shrugged as he got himself a plate of eggs and English muffin.

                “What’s with the change?”

                Nate sighed. “I met this girl once who told me to act professionally, and look it too.” _There you go, Nate, stop thinking about the one you just lot, and focus on another that you lost. As if any of them actually had that much influence on you…_

                “Is this the same girl you were visiting?” Cutter put his feet up on the coffee table and looked back at Nate over his shoulder.

                “No, a different one.” _At least Elena was sane… meeting Chloe again would bring trouble_.

                Cutter chuckled. “You amaze me, Mate.”

                “Why is that?” Nate sat on the seat adjacent to Charlie and took a bite of his eggs.

                “Your relationships are like your jobs. You are always in a hurry to get in and get out, never wanting to stick around and enjoy the scenery.”

                Nathan laughed, almost choking on his eggs. “My girlfriends aren’t trying to shoot me,” he choked out.

                Charlie set his plate down and leaned over to Nathan. “I know you aren’t one to relax and retire early. You’re about the adrenaline. And I’ll admit, so am I. But I will be the first out of the two of us to admit that I was happier with my girl than you were with any of yours.”

                Nate wanted to make some sarcastic remark, but he knew Charlie was right. He bit his lip and looked up at Charlie. “If you were so happy, then why are you doing any of this,” he motioned around him.

                Charlie looked down. “We all make stupid mistakes. It’s the better man who learns from them.”

                “Is that why you are single?”

                Charlie laughed with Nathan. “I, unlike you Nate, don’t like to mix work and love.”

                Elena, over the next couple weeks, labored and obsessed over this newly found villain in her life. She was determined to expose him. She reasoned that someone needed to expose him for who he was and in this, she could gather public support and encourage American support to the towns and villages in need. NATO was doing what they could, but they were not sending, what she considered, was the proper aid. Suddenly, she was enraged that America was turning a blind eye.

                Day to day, however, between the lines that Elena feverishly obsessed over, she still thought about Nathan. She still checked her phone as she woke, and before she shut her eyes at night. She wished that he’d send just one text, just something simple like “Hi, how’s it going?” Nothing. Just silence. It made her so angry, and so sad, that he could just drop everything that they had just like that. She’d sit and daydream while she watched the evening news about them laughing and wrestling in bed. She found a drawing, a quick sketch, of an ocean scene. She remembered that day well, mostly about how he complained the whole time he couldn’t get in the water, but mostly how she sat in between his legs on the sand and he held her as the salty breeze played with her hair. She could feel his strong arms around her at night. It was something that she missed desperately. With all this, she busied herself with work to drain her of excess energy that she could use to miss Nathan Drake. So when the opportunity came to go across seas to prove that her new villain was not killed in a bombing raid as NATO claimed, she jumped to prove her theory correct.

                Nathan was not having as much luck. The next months would be enduring, to say the least. He found himself choosing not to work and to relax. The job with Charlie Cutter didn’t go as planned, but to Charlie’s surprise, Nate wasn’t that disappointed. He seemed to shrug it off and moved on. He chose to go home, to Florida, and sort things out. It’d been a while since he’d been home and he knew he had things to do such as organize his financial gains and clean house. He didn’t feel right, he needed an out, a new adventure. Sulking at him lonely apartment over his losses were not going to make it any better. With a clean shaved face, he got up and headed out the door for new prospects.

                As much as either of these came slowly to terms with their separation, their paths would cross again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will be honest, I should have just ended at 8 chapters. I still felt the need to round everything up. This chapter took me the longest to write. I hope it is a good conclusion. This isn't the end of my writings. I have been so busy with my job. I apologize. I'm hoping to finish a few pieces in the next week or so.

**Author's Note:**

> This chapter was just to introduce you to the intro and to understand their relationship in their dating era. It has very little significance except to get acquainted and to understand their thinking before the next chapter. 
> 
> I'm very excited about this one. My husband is in the process of growing a beard and is getting quite a bit of comments from everyone. But he's determined to keep growing it. After a day or two, this dawned on me. Let me know what you all think!


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